All UWA graduates are automatically members of Convocation and are entitled to vote in these elections. In accordance with Part 4 of the University of Western Australia Act 1911 and University of Western Australia Statute Chapter 4, nominations for the following positions opened on Friday, 1 November 2024 and closed at 12pm on Friday, 29 November 2024. - WARDEN OF CONVOCATION (1-year term)
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DEPUTY WARDEN OF CONVOCATION (1-year term)
- SEVEN ORDINARY MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL OF CONVOCATION (six 3-year term, one 1-year term)
- ONE MEMBER OF SENATE (3-year term)
The current office holders of these positions complete their terms in March 2025 and all are eligible for re-election. The electors' roll for postal and electronic voting closed on 29 November 2024.
Voting opens in the first week of February 2025. For voting support please contact CorpVote on 1300 710 950 or support@corpvote.com.au. |
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Candidate Nomination Open |
Candidate Nomination Close |
Update your contact details by |
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29 November at 12.00pm AWST |
1 February – 11 March 2025 at 5pm AWST |
Autumn Ordinary Meeting 20 March |
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In accordance with clause 45(1) of the UWA Statute, Convocation approves an electronic voting process and a postal voting process for elections. |
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This year’s Spring Meeting was lively and lengthy. As well as state-of-the-nation style reports from the Vice-Chancellor (represented by the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor), the Guild President and the Warden, it included a spirited discussion of Convocation Council’s recommendations for changes to the Amending Statute No.1 approved by Senate and sent to Convocation for consideration. I am pleased to advise that, at its meeting on 28 October 2024, the Senate accepted Council’s recommendations approved at the Spring General Meeting. We await the final government approval of the amended UWA Statute.
Convocation remains enshrined in the UWA Act as one of the four pillars of the University, together with the Senate, Guild of Undergraduates and Staff. Key changes to the UWA Statute, which are not expected to come into effect until mid 2025, include: - changing the name of Convocation Council to Alumni Council
- setting the number of Councillors at 14
- encouraging generational diversity on the Alumni Council.
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Voting to accept Council recommendations |
Q&A at the Spring General Meeting |
These are usually published six months after the event in the following General Meeting booklet. Following a request from members, we have decided to publish questions and answers so they can be read soon after the meeting by those who were not able to attend. |
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The University is progressing its plans for purpose-built student accommodation at its Nedlands campus. This project aims to support our growing student population and enhance campus facilities. From 2022 to late 2023, UWA gathered valuable feedback through the Nedlands Masterplan engagement. These insights have informed the design and planning of the proposed development. The University has now lodged a development application with the City of Perth for the development, with construction anticipated to begin in mid-to-late 2025. For more information on the Student Accommodation proposed for the Nedlands site, please visit https://masterplan.uwa.edu.au/nedlands-campus/student-accommodation. |
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Dr Ned Curthoys has recently published an important review essay in The Conversation on a new book on Hannah Arendt, one of the most influential political theorists of the 20th century. In these troubled and uncertain times, he argues convincingly that she is a philosopher for our times. |
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I’ve recently been reading past copies of Crawley, a Convocation bulletin issued during the 1980s. Among a host of interesting issues, some of which still continue, they also regularly recorded the names of donors, demonstrating that donations have always been important in enabling Convocation Council to initiate and develop programs which benefit our members and our students.
As well as thanks to our many subscribing members — over 600 of you — a big thank you to all those who have donated to Convocation this year, whether it be to support our Postgraduate Research Travel Awards or the Matilda Award or for general purposes. Your support is greatly appreciated. |
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Our volunteers enrich student journeys, contribute to life saving research, and activate UWA’s presence in Western Australia and throughout the world, they are the vital heartbeat of our community. |
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International Student Quotas |
Following months of protests from universities, the Senate Committee Inquiry into the International Student Quotas Bill recommended to Federal Parliament that the bill be passed. As, however, the bill was not passed by the end of the parliamentary sitting year, a regulation known as Ministerial Direction 107 is in place requiring immigration officials to prioritise applications for students with offers from institutions considered lower risk. This has been welcomed by the Group of Eight universities. Nevertheless, the likely outcome is not known.
In much of the debate over international student quotas, the social value of our vast network of overseas students, following the establishment of the Colombo Plan in 1950, seems to have been forgotten. As the retiring Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne has commented ‘what easily gets lost in this discussion is the human face and the human value of international education…[and] the power of Australia’s international education networks.’ |
The cost of higher education and higher education fee repayments have exacerbated the current cost-of-living crisis for many graduates. The alarming increase in student debt in Australia since 2010 was recently demonstrated by a graph published by the Sydney Morning Herald. |
Nevertheless, there may be some progress in ameliorating student debt. It has been announced that, if the Federal Government is re-elected next year, HECS or HELP debts will be reduced by 20 per cent. This debt cut, operating together with a revised HELP repayment threshold and a proposed indexation refund, will be welcome news for graduates. The HELP repayment threshold will be raised from an annual income of $54,000 to $67,000. The rate of repayment will range from 15% to 17% at different levels of income using a marginal rate system like the taxation system.
However, this measure does nothing to grapple with the former government’s Jobs Ready Policy, of which the Universities Accord Review commissioned by the government was highly critical. Under the Jobs Ready Policy, the costs imposed on degrees in some clusters are exorbitant. The cost of degrees in arts, law and business rose by over 100 per cent, costing students $50,000 or more for a three-year bachelor’s degree. The intention was to encourage students to enrol in some ‘job ready’ degrees, so the cost of degrees in engineering, architecture, nursing, teaching, agriculture, and mathematics all dropped by between 17 and 59 per cent.
Analysis has shown that these changes seem to have had little impact on the degrees that students choose. But they have certainly had an impact on student debt. The problem of high levels of student debt is on going and the story has not finished. There are several bills relating to higher education waiting to be considered by the House of Representatives and the Senate. |
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